POSCO displays a self-developed vehicle body applied with the company's so-called "Giga Steel" plates at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, last year. / Courtesy of POSCO

By Jhoo Dong-chan

The nation's largest steelmaker POSCO is contributing greatly to the automotive industry with its so-called "Giga Steel," a lighter but more solid product based on the nation's largest steelmaker's latest technology in steel.

Entering an era of fuel efficiency and eco-friendly vehicles, global carmakers are making more investments on weight reduction of their vehicle models. Because lighter cars are, obviously, more fuel-efficient than heavier ones.

As a part of their weight reduction efforts, an increasing number of new materials, including magnesium, carbon and aluminum, started to be applied to make their cars lighter.

"Aluminum has been an alternative material for vehicle plates for its lightness, weighing only one third the weight of the conventional steel. But, it is expensive. POSCO's ‘Giga Steel' is as light as aluminum but almost three times stronger," POSCO CEO Kwon Oh-joon said.

According to the classification defined by the World Steel Association, steel with a strength yield in excess of 550 Mega Pascal (MPa) is generally referred to as Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS). Steel such as this is sometimes called "Ultra High Strength Steel" for its tensile strength exceeding 780 MPa. AHSS with tensile strength of at least 1,000 MPa is often called "GigaPascal Steel."

POSCO is the only steelmaker in the world that mass produces the TWIP steel, a Giga Steel that can withstand 100 kilograms or more weight per square millimeter. A POSCO official said POSCO TWIP steel products can be used in various vehicle parts, including front and rear bumper beams, to absorb exterior shocks.

POSCO's steel technologies for vehicle plates have gained industry attention since the world's fourth-largest steelmaker entered the automotive steel plate market in 1973 by supplying its hot rolled coil to Hyundai Motor and the then to Daewoo Motors.

Last year, the steelmaker sold more than 9 million tons of vehicle steel plates, roughly 10 percent of the total steel supply for global automakers. Currently, the top 15 global carmakers are supplied with POSCO steel products.

The official said the company will strengthen its partnerships and sales networks with carmakers across the world, aiming to sell more than 10 million tons of vehicle steel plates by 2018.

POSCO held a series of technology exhibitions jointly with Renault Samsung, Ssangyong Motor and GM Korea, last year.